Gallery: Hidden Rainbows in Ordinary Rocks

By Stephanie Pappas
published

Ocean Jasper

Bernardo Cesare Ocean Jasper

(Image credit: Copyright: Bernardo Cesare, micROCKScopica.org)

Another view of Madagascar Ocean Jasper.

Microfolds

Bernardo Cesare Phyllite

(Image credit: Copyright: Bernardo Cesare, micROCKScopica.org)

Microfolds in a metamorphic rock called phyllite from the eastern Alps of Italy.

Fossil Find

Bernardo Cesare Nummulite

(Image credit: Copyright: Bernardo Cesare, micROCKScopica.org)

A limestone from Veneto, Italy holds a secret: A coin-shaped fossil, the remains of a marine protozoan called a Nummulite. These fossils are common in rocks around the Mediterranean.

Stephanie Pappas
Stephanie Pappas
Live Science Contributor

Stephanie Pappas is a contributing writer for Live Science, covering topics ranging from geoscience to archaeology to the human brain and behavior. She was previously a senior writer for Live Science but is now a freelancer based in Denver, Colorado, and regularly contributes to Scientific American and The Monitor, the monthly magazine of the American Psychological Association. Stephanie received a bachelor's degree in psychology from the University of South Carolina and a graduate certificate in science communication from the University of California, Santa Cruz.